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I actually eat here once every five years when I manage to go to a mall. Good thing it's not any more than that -- ok, I had some idea previously how right wing the family that owned it was but I'm not sure if they've been this clear before.

Bet Chick-fil-A wishes this month would end. Over the past few weeks, the restaurant chain's deep ties to the anti-gay movement have been exposed and uncovered by a number of activists, most notably Jeremy Hooper at Good As You. Whether it's Focus on the Family, the National Organization for Marriage, the Pennsylvania Family Institute, or Exodus International, Chick-fil-A ties run deep.

Of course, the President of Chick-fil-A wants gay people to share no hard feelings. The restaurant will gladly feed homosexuals gobs of chicken sandwiches, after all. But when it comes to marriage, Chick-fil-A believes strongly that same-sex couples just don't deserve equal rights.

As we wrote about a few weeks ago, Chick-fil-A's charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation, has been particularly active in the fight against marriage equality. They've hosted conferences with some of the leading opponents of gay marriage in this country. A higher up at WinShape has even praised the efforts of anti-gay activist David Blankenhorn for working against marriage equality, and for articulating a solid reason why American culture should reject same-sex couples.

Now comes some email correspondence that Good As You has shared on their blog, where the WinShape Foundation's Retreat Center -- a center run by the charitable arm of Chick-fil-A -- admits that they have a severe distaste for LGBT people.

The email correspondence goes a little something like this. Someone writes WinShape an easy question about whether their retreat center is open to LGBT people. WinShape's response:

"WinShape Retreat defines marriage from the Biblical standard as being between one man and one woman. Groups/Individuals are welcome who offer wholesome, educational conferences and programs that are compatible with Biblical values and WinShape's purpose," WinShape wrote back.

Kind of some corporate speak, right? So the activist wrote back: can you just give a clear-cut answer? And WinShape confirmed:

"We do not accept homosexual couples because of the statement in our contract."

And so it goes like this: Chick-fil-A is a restaurant where franchises frequently donate to anti-gay organizations like the Pennsylvania Family Institute, Focus on the Family and others. The restaurant's charitable arm, WinShape, holds conferences for opponents of gay marriage and praises their work. And this charitable arm's Retreat program puts a blanket ban on gay couples using their facilities, because they "do not accept homosexual couples."

Yet the President of Chick-fil-A still says that all people, including LGBT people, are treated with respect by the restaurant? Huh, what a funny definition of respect.

Meanwhile, check this story out. So the Human Rights Campaign's NOMExposed project tried to submit an equality-minded video to the Ruth Institute's "Reel Love Video Challenge." The Ruth Institute is an affiliate of the National Organization for Marriage, and they're running a contest where folks can submit videos talking about what love means. The video below was originally accepted, but then promptly booted out of the project once the Ruth Institute became aware that it actually championed equality for same-sex couples.

Here's the kicker: the Ruth Institute's "Reel Love Video Challenge" has a tie-in to Chick-fil-A's WinShape Foundation. Wouldn't it be nice to hear why the Ruth Institute and the WinShape Foundation find the below video so offensive? After all, what is love if it isn't equal?

In the words of my younger brother when realizing it was lunchtime and a Sunday: "Damn those Christians and their delicious chicken!"

The Chick-fil-a where I live is always packed. I don't know if they only hire people from the town of Stepford but the employees are always eerily pleasant, wholesome and attentive. It's simply impossible to hate them.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Well, I've fil-Aad a few chickens in my lifetime and the 2 we have here in Albuquerque, NM our run by the biggest DIKE I've ever known & loved, (sometimes I get free-food) not sure if they are open on Sundays tho blue-laws really don't go over well in my neck-of-the-woods, this is the liberal desert for crying out loud

« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 09:40:12 PM by denb45 »

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

not sure if they are open on Sundays tho bule-laws really don't go over well in my neck-of-the-woods,

from the wiki article: "Cathy's beliefs are also responsible for one of the chain's distinctive features: All Chick-fil-A locations (company-owned and franchised, whether in a mall or freestanding) are closed on Sundays"

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leatherman (aka mIkIE)

All the stars are flashing high above the seaand the party is on fire around you and meWe're gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes- Pet Shop Boys chart from 1992-2015Isentress/Prezcobix

I think all the queers should unite and friend them on Facebook, then only descend on the place when they offer "free chicken sandwich day".

Use them for what we want and then leave. Kind of like how we use most everybody else on the net.

This.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

This reminds me of something I read today about Harp's Grocery Stores of Arkansas. One of their stores covered up the magazine featuring Elton John, his partner, and new baby. It was my understanding that it was just one store and they reversed themselves. I saw the magazine while checking out at Krogetto. I was only bothered by Elton's image. In that picture, he reminds me so much of my grandmother. I swear, he looks so much like my late grandma. I didn't check to see if this has been discussed in another forum.

They have a Chik-Fil-A at the Student Union Building where I work at the University of New Mexico. I have a feeling UMN will not be too pleased when this is brought to their attention. And trust me, it WILL be brought to their attention. They have a policy that anyone doing business with them has to basically have the same non-discriminatory policies as the University when it comes to things like this. Discrimintation is not taken lightly there. They have a Queer Student group, and a gay student resource center that it run by a bunch of Uber-PC drones, as well as an office of Equity and Inclusion. The college paper will also be most interested as well. For once I cannot wait to get to work on Monday morning.

It'll be fun to see what kind of mischief we can get whipped up over this. College students always seem to be on the lookout for something to get indignant about, they're always having demonstrations/candlelight vigils/group handwringing type activites, so this should really get them going. I'll keep you posted on any developments as they happen. Maybe they'll even get their lease cancelled, now that would be awesome.

Yes, You missed the 70's. There were over 20 years when Gay bars refused to serve Coors beer. All gay bars I went to in the 70's and 80's, and probably up into the early to mid 90's, Refused to stock it sell it. There were signs stating that in each bar. " We dot no serve Coors Beer". I still remember the signs.

They were homophobic and racist. This was also around the time of Anita Bryant and the Orange juice boycott.

There are some that say Coors made amends, but I don't but that. They still contribute heavily to conservative right wing causes, and even into the 2000's were against gays and lesbians serving in the military.

There are many articles on this. A little research will reveal quite a lot. There are still a few of us around that continue to protest Coors. At the same time, I think the Gay community sold out to Coors,( amazing what money can do) And most gay bars do sell Coors now.